The 17 commandments of Console manufacturing

[Segataritensoftii]

After getting thoroughly fed up with how the console makers are screwing players over with their exclusive DLC and their consoles that are seemingly as fragile as a Faberge egg, I have come up with 17 commandments for console makers to abide by:

 

1. Thou shalt not prevent games made in one region from running on a system made for another.

2. Thou shalt not charge a mandatory subscription fee for the privilege of downloading from thy store.

3. Thou shalt allow the copying of game downloads for all means, as long as they be for personal use.

4. Thou shalt not make DLC or non-platform specific patches exclusive to one platform, unless they shall only function well on that platform.

5. Thou shalt include modding and mapping tools for PC ports of games, and they shall be on every Operating System that thy game runneth on.

6. Thou shalt not make a console that breaketh after 6 months

7. Thou shalt not rush games out for Christmas, therefore making the quality grievously suffer.

8. Thou shalt not remove advertised features from thy game system's firmware.

9. Thou shalt not release licensed games, unless they bemuse sufficiently.

10. Thou shalt not make more than 40% of major releases sequels.

11. Thou shalt not lock games to a specific console, or any multitude thereof.

12. Thou shalt not prevent the sale of used games or peripherals in any way.

13. Thou shalt turn a blind eye to illegal copying, unless it preventeth thou from turning a profit.

14. Thou shalt not prevent or discourage the sale of cheat devices, for they offer many strange and wonderful ways to play a game.

15. Thou shalt allow local multiplayer on every game which supporteth multiple players.

16. Thou shalt allow the player to set up thine own server on any game which supporteth online multiplayer.

17. Thou shalt not provide exclusive DLC for buying a game in certain stores.

 

If you feel I left anything out or should improve this, let me know.

Edited January 12, 2011 by Segataritensoftii

[godslabrat]

All are good points (especially # but implementing this is going to be tough. Unless enough people vote with their wallets and stop the excesses of the industry, all the trends you've pointed out will continue. Honestly, I don't think enough people really care enough to stop buying games.

[Segataritensoftii]

All are good points (especially # but implementing this is going to be tough. Unless enough people vote with their wallets and stop the excesses of the industry, all the trends you've pointed out will continue. Honestly, I don't think enough people really care enough to stop buying games.

Especially number what?

[madmax2069]

How about this one

 

Thou shalt not require a subscription service to get access to a subscription service that you do not provide service for. (aka have to have gold to be able to use ESPN3, Netflix, Hulu plus. and even free services such as twitter and facebook and last FM).

 

some people believe that those subscription services come included with a gold account and do not realize that they do not when they buy gold (i already knew those was separate from the gold subscription).

 

You can bet you butt that any game or software company that makes a profit from the said software will never turn a blind eye towards illegal copying. I know that i would be for putting the hammer down onto anyone stealing my software (if i had any). its against the law, period. #3 and #13 are just about the same (depending on if #3 is pay DLC or a game save or free software).

 

I can agree with the rest.

 

Especially number what?

 

He is talking about 8. you can see the number when you quoted him, it just gets misunderstood by the forum software as a emoticon.

Edited January 12, 2011 by madmax2069

[Nukey Shay]

8 + ) =

[MagitekAngel]

The worthy vassal spake verses that smacketh most veritably and virtuously.

[raskar42]

thou shall not make controllers that can only be used comfortably by a yeti

[DaytonaUSA]

11. Thou shalt not lock games to a specific console, or any multitude thereof.

 

I don't get that one. Then there would just be one system, not three. And to be totally honest, I wouldn't want to not have a choice in console maker, as while are similar, they are run (online) and made (quality) in different ways. Plus controller preferences, etc.

 

One thing I'd like to add:

 

Thou shalt not release a game on time that's shit, just to say it's ok since you can complete it later with free DLC in a few weeks.

 

Seriously, if it's not done, don't release it. I appreciate studios not giving up on a game once it's released, but I simply hate it when it's obvious they never planned to get it fully finished before burning them on Blu-Rays/DVDs since DLC is such an acceptable scape goat now.

[Reaperman]

"Let's see how unhappy we can make our customers, and still have them spend some of their money on our consoles." That seems to be the new trend in video gaming. Sure they don't *have* to sack us with ever-tightening restrictions, but turning out good products that make consumers happy is just not enough fun, I suppose.

 

I enjoy this generation less and less every day, it makes me feel dirty. I do have a choice, but only one--not to participate in modern gaming. It's been really tempting. I managed to limit myself to just over $100 on modern gaming for all of last year (down from at least $1500). Sony probably blames the revenue loss from me and those like me on piracy.

 

I'm not really looking forward to the next 'do I bend over and upgrade my firmware' dilemma Sony seems to really get off on putting me through. Which functionality will they take next? What new restriction will there be? These firmware updates are never really good news, are they?

Edited January 12, 2011 by Reaperman

[Reinhardt]

Thou Shalt make games that emphasize good game play over graphical "prettiness". Because, I've seen far too many games that were beautiful, but played like shit.

[Mendon]

Thou shall not call a consumer EVIL because they choose to purchase or sell a used video game.

 

 

Mendon

[AtariLeaf]

8 + ) =

 

Just start calling it "Number cool"

[Emehr]

Thou shalt not allow upgrades or patches once a product ships. This applies to both consoles (firmware upgrades) and games (bug fixes, add-ons, etc). These are video game consoles, not PCs. We expect consistency. Do it right the first time.

[dstone]

How about "thou shalt remove most advertising from console upon registering with a subscription service."

 

Yes, I'm looking at you, Microsoft. I can tolerate a few ads, but, jeez.

[Fixitguy74]

Thou shalt not kill/lock out said console if owner decides to mod it. Void the warranty sure, but not kill it. After all he paid for the thing and should be aloud to tamper with it as he sees fit.

[madmax2069]

Thou shalt not allow upgrades or patches once a product ships. This applies to both consoles (firmware upgrades) and games (bug fixes, add-ons, etc). These are video game consoles, not PCs. We expect consistency. Do it right the first time.

 

^^^^ here is a commandment fail.

[Emehr]

Thou shalt not allow upgrades or patches once a product ships. This applies to both consoles (firmware upgrades) and games (bug fixes, add-ons, etc). These are video game consoles, not PCs. We expect consistency. Do it right the first time.

 

^^^^ here is a commandment fail.

It's too much to ask, I know, but if they really put their heads together they just may be able to pull it off.

[Segataritensoftii]

11. Thou shalt not lock games to a specific console, or any multitude thereof.

 

I don't get that one. Then there would just be one system, not three. And to be totally honest, I wouldn't want to not have a choice in console maker, as while are similar, they are run (online) and made (quality) in different ways. Plus controller preferences, etc.

I didn't mean one or more consoles from one or more console makers. What I was trying to say was that you can't lock a game to the serial number of one or more of a certain brand of game console. This means that a game for Xbox 360 still won't actually run on the PS3, but it will run on all makes and models of the Xbox 360.

 

Perhaps I should rephrase my statement.

 

One thing I'd like to add:

 

Thou shalt not release a game on time that's shit, just to say it's ok since you can complete it later with free DLC in a few weeks.

 

Seriously, if it's not done, don't release it. I appreciate studios not giving up on a game once it's released, but I simply hate it when it's obvious they never planned to get it fully finished before burning them on Blu-Rays/DVDs since DLC is such an acceptable scape goat now.

Good one. I'll add that to the list. Edited January 12, 2011 by Segataritensoftii

[Segataritensoftii]

How about "thou shalt remove most advertising from console upon registering with a subscription service."

 

Yes, I'm looking at you, Microsoft. I can tolerate a few ads, but, jeez.

I'd change "most" to "all".

 

Then I'd add "Thou shalt have minimal ads before registering with a subscription service."

Edited January 12, 2011 by Segataritensoftii

[Segataritensoftii]

Mk. 2 of the list. Now with number cool!

 

1. Thou shalt not prevent games made in one region from running on a system made for another.

2. Thou shalt not charge a mandatory subscription fee for the privilege of downloading from thy store.

3. Thou shalt allow the copying of game downloads for all means, as long as they be for personal use.

4. Thou shalt not make DLC or non-platform specific patches exclusive to one platform, unless they shall only function well on that platform.

5. Thou shalt include modding and mapping tools for PC ports of games, and they shall be on every Operating System that thy game runneth on.

6. Thou shalt not make a console that breaketh after 6 months

7. Thou shalt not rush games out for Christmas, therefore making the quality grievously suffer.

. Thou shalt not remove advertised features from thy game system's firmware.

9. Thou shalt not release licensed games, unless they bemuse sufficiently.

10. Thou shalt not make more than 40% of major releases sequels.

11. Thou shalt not lock games to a specific console, or any multitude thereof.

12. Thou shalt not prevent the sale of used games or peripherals in any way.

13. Thou shalt turn a blind eye to illegal copying, unless it preventeth thou from turning a profit.

14. Thou shalt not prevent or discourage the sale of cheat devices, for they offer many strange and wonderful ways to play a game.

15. Thou shalt allow local multiplayer on every game which supporteth multiple players.

16. Thou shalt allow the player to set up thine own server on any game which supporteth online multiplayer.

17. Thou shalt not provide exclusive DLC for buying a game in certain stores.

18. Thou shalt not release a game on time that's shit, just to say it's ok since you can complete it later with free DLC in a few weeks.

19. Thou shalt not kill/lock out said console if owner decides to mod it. Void the warranty sure, but not kill it. After all he paid for the thing and should be aloud to tamper with it as he sees fit.

20. Thou shalt remove all advertising from console upon registering with a subscription service.

[Tr3vor]

. Thou shalt not remove advertised features from thy game system's firmware.

 

 

 

Thats the new atariage meme. #

 

what about 1 ?

Edited January 12, 2011 by Tr3vor

[Fixitguy74]

19. Thou shalt not kill/lock out said console if owner decides to mod it. Void the warranty sure, but not kill it. After all he paid for the thing and should be aloud to tamper with it as he sees fit.

Whoo hoo I made it on the list.

[SRGilbert]

Thou shalt not allow upgrades or patches once a product ships. This applies to both consoles (firmware upgrades) and games (bug fixes, add-ons, etc). These are video game consoles, not PCs. We expect consistency. Do it right the first time.

 

Gotta agree with that one. Good luck getting those patches 5-10 years down the road. Considering most of us have grown accustomed to playing games that are up to 30+ years old.

[godslabrat]

 

I enjoy this generation less and less every day, it makes me feel dirty. I do have a choice, but only one--not to participate in modern gaming. It's been really tempting. I managed to limit myself to just over $100 on modern gaming for all of last year (down from at least $1500).

 

Although I didn't say so, this is exactly the reason I started the New Console Announcement in 2011 thread. With all the stuff that's happened in this generation (which, to be honest, is in many ways the fruition of stuff started in the previous generation) I'm rapidly losing interest in modern gaming, to the point where I'm asking myself how much money I can save going forward. I'm asking myself "How easily can I rule out an entire console completely?"

 

Let's see:

 

Will I buy a WiiHD? Yeah, most likely. I'm stuck on Nintendo's franchises, and if I buy one console, that would be it.

 

Will I buy an Xbox 720? My main draw would be continued use of my Rock Band stuff... if it's even backwards compatible, which it might not be. I went with Rock Band on the 360 because buying songs on XBL seemed easier than the other systems. But, if they toss out the 360 support entirely, I might just migrate my Rock Band stuff to Nintendo after all. If I do get the next MS system, it would only be after my 360 dies, providing the new one is backwards compatible enough to replace the 360. If Microsoft does a crappy job of backwards compatibility, after they've made the 360 so unreliable, in the next generation they can go piss up a rope.

 

Will I buy a PS4? I don't think so, Tim. I only bought a PS3 because it was a good BluRay player. Since I've owned it, I've played exactly one game on it. I don't think it's likely that Sony will impress me with their software or hardware in the next round.

 

So... there's a better-than-average chance of me owning only one system in the next generation of hardware. I don't think I'm alone.

[+HammR25]

2. Thou shalt not charge a mandatory subscription fee for the privilege of downloading from thy store.

I don't know of any company of a current generation console that does that. One can have a free silver account and download everything that's in the Xbox Live store. Sometimes demos can only be downloaded by gold members for a few days but after that everyone can.